Rooster Cogburn (1975)

[trekgeezer]

Starring John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn, this was an unnecessary sequel to True Grit and plays a lot like a cross between that movie and The African Queen. The thing that redeems it  is the performances.

Wayne and Hepburn seem to be actually enjoying themselves (sometimes they look like they are going to break out laughing). Richard Jordan and Anthony Zerbe do a good turn as bad guys. In fact, Jordan's character Hawk is one of the nastiest and most homicidal bad guys I've seen. Also among the bad guys you'll recognize Paul Koslo and a mute Lane Smith.

Strother Martin turns up for a small part and is excellent as usual.

This was John Wayne's next to the last movie before he died. Two years later he would make The Shootist (a movie I consider his third best role after The Searchers and True Grit).

Rooster Cogburn is worth the watch ,if for nothing else but  the enjoyable banter between the two leads.

[Scott]

Yea, ROOSTER COGBURN is an ok Western. All the John Wayne Westerns starting with STAGECOACH and ANGEL AND THE BADMAN seem to be all very worthy viewing. I just found that Netflix has THE TRAIN ROBBERS which is the only big John Wayne films that I have yet to see.



Post Edited (05-08-05 21:16)

[Ozzymandias]

If you think about it RC is True Grit and African Queen .

[BoyScoutKevin]

This thread reminds me of an attempt to do a television series based on the film "True Grit" with Warren Oates as Rooster Cogburn. Not a bad little western, I thought, once Oates quit trying to do a pale imitation of John Wayne, and made the role his own.